The public schools in my town decided several years ago not to publicly release the names of honor roll students, as they had of course done for longer than anyone could remember. The stated reason was because they did not want the kids who were not on the list to feel badly about themselves, or that they were not as smart as those on the list. Naturally they have also abandoned the practice of having a valedictorian and salutatorian. However, they have NOT stopped the practice of identifying those students who excel in athletics. The local weekly always has several pages dedicated to the outcome of all the interscholastic sports teams, including quotes from the team captains and “stars.” No concern about making the kids who do not excel at athletics feel badly about themselves for not being as coordinated, as strong, or as athletic as those in the paper. So you tell me: What’s wrong with this picture?
The public schools in my town decided several years ago not to publicly release the names of honor roll students, as they had of course done for longer than anyone could remember. The stated reason was because they did not want the kids who were not on the list to feel badly about themselves, or that they were not as smart as those on the list. Naturally they have also abandoned the practice of having a valedictorian and salutatorian. However, they have NOT stopped the practice of identifying those students who excel in athletics. The local weekly always has several pages dedicated to the outcome of all the interscholastic sports teams, including quotes from the team captains and “stars.” No concern about making the kids who do not excel at athletics feel badly about themselves for not being as coordinated, as strong, or as athletic as those in the paper. So you tell me: What’s wrong with this picture?